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Sharpen Your General Knowledge

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Shamim Ansary:
Who Invented Time and How Did Ancient Civilizations Keep Track of Time?

No one invented time; it was merely discovered.

Early humans were aware of time passing and at some point began marking it.

Archeologists continue to uncover ancient civilizations that devised elaborate methods of keeping track of the movement of the sun and the stars.

Stonehenge is one example.

The earliest clock, a shadow clock similar to a sundial, dates back to 3500 B.C.

The hourglass dates back almost as far.

As cultures advanced, the mechanical clock was invented and then the pendulum clock.

By the 18th century, more and more people had access to clocks and watches and were able to keep time more accurately themselves.

Today we use a 24-hour clock and have the world divided into 24 time zones.

The zones start at zero at the original site of the Greenwich Observatory in Greenwich, England.

We go by what is called the Scientific Standard of Time, based on the second, which is defined by scientists as “the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of radiation” and in other circles as “one Mississippi.”

Shamim Ansary:
What Does the Expression “Bumper Crop” Mean and Where Did the Saying Come From?

A “bumper crop” is a result of extraordinary abundance.

You can have a bumper business, bumper crowds, or bumper crops.

This ancient use of bumper comes from a drinking goblet called a “bumper,” which was filled to the brim when used for toasts.

While quaffing a bumper of ale, drinkers touched, or bumped these goblets against one another during a festive or celebratory occasion such as an excellent harvest, business growth, or full houses at theatrical performances.

Shamim Ansary:
What Are the Names of the Jacks and Queens in a Deck of Cards and How Did They Originate?

In a deck of cards the jacks are Hector, prince of Troy; La Hire, comrade-in-arms of Joan of Arc; Ogier, a knight of Charlemagne; and Judas Maccabeus, who led the Jewish rebellion against the Syrians.

The queens are Pallas, a warrior goddess; Rachel, Biblical mother of Joseph; Judith, from the book of Judith; and Argine, which is an anagram for regina, the Latin word for queen.

Parisian card names by suit:

Spades: (queen) Pallas, (jack) Ogier Hearts: (queen) Judith, (jack) La Hire Diamonds: (queen) Rachel, (jack) Hector Clubs: (queen) Argine, (jack) Judas.

Shamim Ansary:
Where Did the Words Right and Left Come From and What Do the Terms Mean?

The word right surfaced in English as riht and meant “straight.”

To put things right is to straighten them out.

Right took the metaphorical meaning of “good” or “just,” as in the Bill of Rights, because most people were right-handed.

The suggestion that left is incorrect was understood, like in a “left-handed compliment,” which is an insult.

The word right became a synonym for correct, but left was evil and so was left alone.

Shamim Ansary:
How Does Your Tongue Taste Food?

Look in the mirror and stick out your tongue. See the little bumps on the surface of it? Inside each of these little bumps, or papillae, are about a dozen tiny organs called taste buds. There are also taste buds in three places in your throat. Not all tastes are detected by the same taste buds. Each group of taste buds in different areas of your tongue and throat helps you recognize different types of taste sensations: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.

When you put a piece of food in your mouth, the chemicals in it alert the taste buds to carry “taste messages” through your nerve cells to your brain. It is in your brain that you actually become aware of the taste of something.

Since your food and your tongue must be moist for the taste buds to start working, your body sends out saliva to mix with any dry foods. To understand how this works, you can try an experiment. Wipe your tongue very dry and then put a lump of sugar in your mouth. Do you find that you cannot taste the sugar? That’s because your body hasn’t yet started to produce the saliva to dissolve the sugar for you to taste. However, in a minute or two, when that saliva is produced, you are able to taste it.

You have about 3,000 taste buds on your tongue!

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